Keith Combs leads the Bassmaster Elite Series Falcon Slam with 34 pounds, 13 ounces. So he’s stroking tons of big bass, right? Not exactly.

“I’ll take it,” said Combs of his day 1 success. I didn’t that coming. Practice was brutal. Today I just went out and fished like I normally fish here.”

 How combs ‘normally fishes Falcon is to spend plenty of time over deep water. And he does normally fish Falcon. Combs has guided on the border-straddling bass factory for several years. Such experience could inspire confidence. Not in Combs’s case.

“It can all come at one time, once they decide to bite. It makes me nervous in a tournament knowing I might only get five opportunities, and I might not catch them. Timing is very important.”

He got 8 opportunities today. Five came on one spot where he caught only 1 fish on multiple visits during practice. He said he wasn’t holding back during practice either. He was trying to catch a few.

Another spot produced no action at all in practice but gave him 3 fish today. They weighed 7 pounds apiece.

Combs expressed concern that his deep stuff may not produce tomorrow. Plan B, shallow water, is only good for 9 or 10 pounds. He knows the deep pattern gives him his best chance to win.

“Even if I don’t have anything at 2 o’clock tomorrow I think I’m going to stay out there and hope they bite.”

Combs holds an even 4-pound advantage over Cliff Prince of Palatka, Fla. Like Combs, Prince is pleased with his 30-13 opening round. “It’s a great start, but it’s a long way to the end, that’s for sure.

“I caught 2 out deep; one a rig, one on a jig. Then I went shallow and caught 3 flipping.”

One of Prince’s deep fish weighed 6 pounds. The other weighed 7. He actually caught more than 3 fish on his flippin’ pattern. He pulled two 7-pounders, a 5, a 4, and two 3’s from the cover in about three feet of water.

About his shallow bite Prince said, “I don’t know if these fish will hold up. It seems like everybody’s there doing it,” said Prince before clarifying, “It’s probably 60/40 really,” – his estimate as to the number of guys who are fishing shallow versus fishing deep.

Prince feels that fishing pressure will play a bigger role in the outcome of this tournament than will weather. “I haven’t even looked at what the weather is supposed to do over the next couple of days. The (full) moon coming up should help the shallow bite. The water temp was 68 this morning and it got up to 72 this afternoon. Most of these fish are done spawning, but not all of them. You know how it is back home (on the St Johns River) they don’t all go at once.”

Rick Morris caught the big bass of the day at 9 pounds, 11 ounces.

Combs expects some bold moves up the leaderboard tomorrow as more anglers figure the timing of the bite in their areas. “It will take 40 pounds to cut a check.” Let’s hope he’s right as we keep an eye on the Bassmaster Falcon Slam this week!

Check out the official leaderboard right here:

http://www.bassmaster.com/tournaments/2013-elite-series-falcon-slam/leaderboard